India to develop sea protocol to boost mango exports and reduce spoilage

India, a major exporter of mangoes, is developing a protocol to transport the fruit by sea to overseas destinations while maintaining their quality and preventing losses due to spoilage.

Sea protocol trials have been successfully carried out with bananas and pomegranates shipped from Indian ports to Rotterdam in the Netherlands and countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach, Sudhanshu, secretary of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), toldMint on the sidelines of a conference on agri-exports.

"Now we are developing sea protocols for mangoes, which will definitely boost the export of the fruit," he said.

Apeda has teamed up with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to work out the sea protocol for mango exports.

"This is part of the government’s efforts to develop sea protocols for increasing exports of fresh produce including fruits and vegetables at lower cost to distant markets," said Sudhanshu.

The protocols involve norms to ensure that fresh produce reaches their destination in optimal condition when transported by sea. They address factors such as harvesting time, maturity stage, temperature control during transit, and ripening at the destination.

Cheaper than air freight

Sending consignments by sea is much cheaper than transporting them by air and also enables larger quantities to be dispatched.

"The US is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for Indian mangoes. The freight charges for exporting 700 kg of mangoes to the US by air is almost similar to sending 14-15 tonnes of mangoes through sea route," said Ekram Husain, vice-president of the VAFA Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association (Maharashtra).

Additionally, transporting shipments by air attracts 18% GST compared with 5% for shipments sent by sea.

India exported mangoes worth $56.34 million in FY25, about 6.3% lower than $60.14 million in FY24.

According to Husain, sending mango shipments by sea will boost exports to countries such as the US, Canada, New Zealand and Japan and benefit Indian farmers. India produces 40% of the world’s mangoes, the most by any country, but it also has a large domestic consumption market. The major mango-growing states are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Telangana, and West Bengal.

Apeda is also working with research institutes to increase the shelf life of litchis, a highly perishable fruit. India is the second-largest producer of litchis, after China. Bihar is the leading producer of litchis in India, with an over-40% share.

"We are also working with research institutes to increase the shelf life of a litchi from 4-5 days to 15 days. This will increase the availability of the fruits not only across the country but would also be exported," Sudhanshu added.

Agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told litchi farmers in Bihar on 2 June that the government would take steps to address the short shelf life of litchis. The minister directed ICAR scientists to develop techniques that would extend the shelf life of litchis and enable farmers to get fair prices.